10 Things you didn’t know about Blood

Blood is very important to all of us, but most of us know very little about it. Most of us probably don’t even know what type we are. Due to its importance in the bodies of both humans and animals, it is no wonder why it is so intricately made up. Below are some interesting facts that you probably didn’t know about one of the most important things in your life.

#1.Its weight

About 7% of your overall body weight comes from blood. Also, there are approximately ten pints of blood in every body of an average adult. So when you donate a pint of blood, you are giving away roughly 10% of your overall blood supply.

#2.Causes noses to run

When your nose runs it is due to your blood’s attempt to keep your nose warm. This attempt creates a need for the blood vessels in your nose to dilate, which in turn causes them to create more mucus.

#3.It is sold and bought

When you donate blood, that blood is actually being sold around the country. This industry is a multi-billion dollar industry; one that is tapped into every couple of seconds for someone in need.

#4. Mosquitos love it

Mosquitos prefer type O blood to the rest, but aren’t picky in a pinch and only the female mosquitos drink it. It would take over a million of them simultaneously sucking in order to drain a human of all their blood.

#5.Hail to the Chief

One of the interesting things that you will find in the trunk of the President of the Unites State’s vehicle is a blood bank that contains his blood type. Nothing is left to chance in the case of an emergency in this case.

#6.It can fill a train

Over the course of your lifetime, your heart will pump enough blood to fill two hundred entire train cars full of blood. This is equivalent to approximately one and a half million barrels of blood that is produced from one person.

#7.Donations save lives

Since someone requires blood every two seconds, it comes as no surprise that blood donations are important. However, it is surprising that just one pint of blood has the power to save the lives of three people. If ten people donated blood as often as they could, they would save approximately 180 people annually!

#8.Not all blood is red

Some animals, like crabs have blue blood. Others have been found to have green, clear or yellow blood. This is mainly due to the elements that the animals use to make the blood. However, there are a very small number of animals that have this trait, most blood is red.

#9.The bigger you are…the slower your blood

Larger animals have slower heart rates than smaller animals. This means that the blood in their body takes longer to circulate around. For example, a blue whale’s heart only beats 5 times per minute while humans beat closer to 75 per minute.

#10.Red blood cells flow smoothly

Red blood cells are created differently than the other cells of the body. They contain no nuclei and are therefore able to travel through the body easily. They circulate for around 120 days before they die off and are replaced by the bone marrow in the body.